PARIS (Reuters) - French authorities launched a counter-terrorism investigation after two police officers were shot and wounded on Thursday by an assailant on the French overseas territory of La Reunion.

Police on the Indian Ocean island said the gunman, described as a "dangerous individual", was arrested and the French interior minister said weapons and ingredients for making Molotov cocktails were later found at his apartment.

The suspect's mother had been detained as part of the investigation, Interior Minister Matthias Fekl said in a statement.

The Paris prosecutor's counter-terrorism section was investigating the incident, a judicial source said.

"This morning, two policemen in La Reunion were wounded while arresting a dangerous individual," a local police statement said.

"After responding to shots, the policemen managed to restrain the assailant," it said.

Reporting by Marine Pennetier, John Irish and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Richard Balmforth